Class Action Re-Action: Snider vs. State Farm Verdict
The Snider vs. State Farm verdict got the attention of repairers, insurers, consumers … and many, many lawyers — who didn’t waste any time filing copycat lawsuits. But with the spotlight now on insurance companies, should shops also be concerned?
Ditch Your One-Dimensional Ways
Only selling collision repair service these days? Diversification is the answer
to getting your profits back and making your business worth owning.
Surviving in the Next Century: Your Role as an Independent Shop Owner
If you choose to buy into the media’s millennium hype, then nothing you do can save your business from impending doom. (Sorry!) If, however, you think the 21st century will bring with it a fast-paced business world, prepare yourself. Times are changing and so must your role as an independent shop owner.
Life in the Fast Lane
The latest industry buzzwords — speed lanes, cycle times, process efficiency — all focus on repairing cars faster. Fast is hot; slow is not. As we ring in the new millennium, we may also be ringing in the era of rapid repairs.
Acquiring an Estimating System
Whether you’re going to purchase the preferred system of an insurer or the system you prefer, your new estimating system won’t do you a darn bit of good unless you know what you’re getting — and how to use it.
Resolving Shop/Insurer Conflicts…Peacefully
Many shop owners complain that insurance companies aren’t allowing them to make a living. How is it, then, that so many other shop owners are working with insurers successfully?
Addressing Antitrust
When it comes to violating antitrust laws, insurance companies aren’t always the villains. Learn when it’s OK to speak out and join forces with industry members — and when it’s better to just zip your lips.
Market Profile: Is the Industry that Bad?
It’s not uncommon to hear shop owners complaining about how awful the collision repair industry is. In fact, when a group of such shop owners get together, it’s worse than a group of old ladies sitting around discussing all their health problems. I know because I speak with a lot of collision repairers and I’m related to a lot of old Italian women (my mother, for one). And, although I have no desire to hear my family discussing bladder control, a group of collision repairers complaining is still worse — especially since most of their problems are fixable.
Insurer Relations Profile: Freedom to do What You Want?
Many collision repair shop owners started their businesses for the freedom owning a business offers — freedom to be your own boss, freedom to do what you want, how you want, when you want.
Pat Is Back! Pat (just Pat)
Our “spy on the other side” Pat the insurance adjuster gets us caught up on how Consumer Reports A/M parts article affected insurers and why Clinton’s proposed budget may make repairers’ lives more difficult.